Hey guys now that I have the time to post i might as well recap the weekend. I can honestly say it was one of our most hectic tournaments ever haha. In a couple of hours on Friday we had so much beyblades sold then after all gone that quick lol. Each day was chaotic and we had a great turnout for each but overall im sure we all had a good time. It felt different being at AN this year due to being at the TCC which made things better! I wanna thank you guys for allowing me to staff this year at AN and giving me the oppurtunity to help out the community more! Peace guys im on the TTC to school rn haha
(May. 30, 2016 2:28 AM)1234beyblade Wrote: [ -> ]My favorite part of anime north was when i crossed the street with all the otakus as a mob.
memes aside, I was memeing so hard at anime north, I had a blast... I was just confused if i was at the beyblade tournament so i had to ask a lot.
I also loved meeting everyone! Especially @[ClaraM] our friendship was misty at first but then she cleared up and we made some dank sasookey memes.
Those dank memes were flowing so hard boi. The weeb attack across the street was great. Even better were the people in cars like "meh, this is normal for Canada." Lol
Everytime I see a sausage now I'm gonna think of Hinata cheating with him. No wonder sasoookey looked so mad.
Seriously, the whole thing was a blast. My only complaint is that it went by so quickly I already miss it and miss the awesome people I met there (toronto squad represent)
Thanks for an awesome weekend guys and thanks to the WBO for organising such an awesome even. I had such a great time!
(May. 30, 2016 5:15 PM)ClaraM Wrote: [ -> ]Seriously, the whole thing was a blast. My only complaint is that it went by so quickly I already miss it and miss the awesome people I met there (toronto squad represent)
Now you know how I felt after leaving Toronto last summer.
We must make our grand return someday. (Maybe AN 2017? lel)
(May. 30, 2016 5:19 PM)Manicben Wrote: [ -> ] (May. 30, 2016 5:15 PM)ClaraM Wrote: [ -> ]Seriously, the whole thing was a blast. My only complaint is that it went by so quickly I already miss it and miss the awesome people I met there (toronto squad represent)
Now you know how I felt after leaving Toronto last summer. We must make our grand return someday. (Maybe AN 2017? lel)
Exactly! I miss it already! Start saving Ben, we're taking over AN
Hello again!
This past weekend was a blast, and it was super nostalgic seeing some old, friendly faces. I met a bunch of new people as well, and it's nice knowing that the Toronto blading scene is still very, very much alive.
Looking forward to coming out to more Toronto meetups, even though I don't really have a bey collection anymore!
Was super tired on the Saturday and Sunday so I never really got to making a post about the weekend!
The Friday started off by LMAO, U wot m8 and I all meeting up at Kei's apartment to help him carry the prizes we had for the weekend. We had took an Uber to the nearby Staples to print out flyers and then to the Congress Center. We had met up with 1234beyblade, JesseObre and Bey Brad there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get LMAO, U wot m8 and 1234beyblade in to help us, not having a staff or an Industry badge. Nonetheless, setting up wasn't super hard and we had met up with them in the evening. It was a pretty hectic, late night overall. I could definitely say that @[Cake] — despite not placing, is one of the most talented, creative MFB players I have ever seen. He was definitely someone I feared playing the next day!
Saturday was great, with the mixture of tons of attendees and somehow managing to win gold. There were, again, complications such as new players signing up for the tournament and leaving right after. I know we can't really force people to stay, but come on, if you sign up for something, commit to it. I am still a dirty Revolve spammer; it — like past Toronto events was the bigger player of the day. My overall record was 8 wins and 1 loss. I had used Wyvern Heavy Zephyr in a wrong matchup, which caused me to ruin my what-was-at-the-time flawless record. Thanks @[Bae Master].
Sunday was laid-back, as expected. I had much less to carry, not owning one single HMS top. I had mooched parts off of Kei and *Ginga* and managed to have a score of 4 wins and 5 losses; 3-1 in my block and 1-4 in the semis.
I had a blast this weekend! An amazing audience and tons of members to help out! Thanks to everyone that gave us a hand throughout the 3 days! Looking forward to seeing everyone in the future!
(May. 30, 2016 10:15 PM)Mitsu Wrote: [ -> ]I could definitely say that Cake — despite not placing, is one of the most talented, creative MFB players I have ever seen. He was definitely someone I feared playing the next day!
aww thanks :3
It's a shame I didn't bring that same level of play to the Burst tournament lol, I still can't believe I played so badly on Saturday XD
I still had a blast Beyblading with you all, and I'll definitely be better prepared for the next Burst tournament! I'm already excited for next year, haha.
Congrats to everyone that placed in the event! I wish I could have been able to participate but I'm glad that I was able to drop by and hang out a bit despite my hectic schedule as staff for another part of the convention. The booth looked really great and so many people were so excited to see Beyblade! Looking forward to next year already.
Congratulations to everyone who did well at the event, and to all the prize winners! Every time I was able to visit the booth (I was incredibly busy being JFashion staff, but I tried my best to say hello to everyone when I could) I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the Bladers and our staff and volunteers who helped facilitate their play. You guys brought the joy of playing Beyblade to so many new people, especially young people, and I'm so proud to be a part of the work you're doing. The booth looked so professional. I was happy to see that it attracted the Uncle Tetsu maids especially!
Many thanks to @[Bae Master] who helped an immense amount in my absence with instagram coverage of the booth and events, and to @[Mitsu] who, as always, does a great job taking photos and making sure our Facebook outreach is going strong.
I'm SO EXCITED to spend more time helping out at Beyblade North next year!! I'll be clearing my schedule of extra duties (besides my lovely Sunday tea party -- the baby I just can't let go of) to spend a lot more time with everyone next year, and to actually get some Blading done myself!
Lots of love to you all, and thank you @[Manicben] for the amazing gift! I love it so much.
(May. 31, 2016 5:24 PM)cadney Wrote: [ -> ]Lots of love to you all, and thank you @[Manicben] for the amazing gift! I love it so much.
Lel, I was wondering if it reached you at all. Glad you like it! Display your prized combo in styyyle!
I do worry that some of the committee are gonna hate me for it though, sorry guys!
Hey all! I'm still exhausted from barely sleeping for the past few days and I only got home at 11 last night (and then worked today – phew), but I wanted to drop in and give a big thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success:
To our team working the booth: @[Kei], @[Kai-V], @[LMAO], @[Mitsu], @[Bae Master] and @[ICEICE] — you all contributed so much and I can't imagine how the weekend would've gone otherwise. You're all rockstars. Special thanks to @[ICEICE] for his immense energy and for him taking over for me when I wasn't feeling well on Sunday morning.
To all the Bladers who came from outside of Canada: @[ExtremeBlader3], @[Cake], @[Wombat], @[Time], @[Ginga], @[Yami], @[ClaraM], @[Cye Kinomiya], @[Dark_Mousy], @[Cronus] — it's an immense honour that you came all this way for our event, and I sincerely hope we met your expectations, regardless of any stumbling blocks along the way.
To every other WBO Blader that entered: @[jamie], @[Suntailhawk], @[pyrus10000], @[Hato], @[1234beyblade], @[Asterisk], @[Minion], @[U wot m8], @[ThermalG], and @[Beyonomics] — thanks so much for making it out and competing!
To those who gave us sick stuff: @[originalzankye] for the immense prize support they provided, and @[Manicben] for the amazing custom Beyblade holders given to the winners and Committee members. Thanks for making our event a lot more awesome.
Our booth was small and there were times where things didn't go as smoothly as I hoped. This was my first time hosting at Anime North since Beyblade War Room in 2009, and I definitely see a lot of areas we can improve in next year, so I'm really grateful to everyone for bearing with me through all of this. That said, I think we managed to pull off a pretty awesome event considering the circumstances.
Please look forward to photos and videos from the event!
I tagged the wrong @[*Ginga*] but I think if I edit the post it will send notifications to everyone again. Sorry, *Ginga*! And also sorry if I missed anyone :')
Definitely big thanks to everybody who helped and came. We were working under hard circumstances but it would have been even worse without every single one of the people on the staff and without each participant. In other words, every individual is responsible for a very successful weekend, whether you realise it or not, and we really thank you for that.
So now that I'm finally settled back in SC I figured I should type up a response to this haha. My surprise appearance was all part of my plan to catch people off guard and I would say it worked pretty well until Sunday. The only people that knew I would be there were ZachBob, Time, and Yami, but I assume Cake figured it out as well after I kinda went off on him in the Kik chat lol.
Anyways, I arrived at the TCC at about 3 PM friday so I could get my badge, but apparently they had changed things up since last year since it took me a solid 30 minutes or so to find the entrance to the actual convention, and then I had to wait outside for a while before the doors finally opened. After some wandering around the maze-like building I finally found the Beyblade section where I met up with Cake, Dark, and the Toronto Squad where we warmed up a bit with Burst and MFB while other people showed up. I still stand by what I said last year: for me, Friday night was a lot more fun and intense than Saturday was just due to the atmosphere of the event. In the finals I out-thunk myself again and made a bad pick against *Ginga* which cost me the tournament, but I still ended up in 2nd with a 9-3 record.
Saturday was also a pretty good day, seeing as I placed 2nd again, but also accomplished what I came to AN to do and sent all the messages I wanted to send basically. I knew everyone in the Burst-centric Toronto meta would be using Revolve combos so I sought to exploit that by using KO Attack, and I would say I was pretty successful with that. Got off to a rough start at first with a "tactical" (not really lol) loss to U wot m8 in the first round but managed to go 5-1 in Swiss play and 2-1 in the finals.
Sunday was also a lot more fun than any other HMS tournament I had played in since I actually had my own good parts to use (shoutout to Dark_Mousy for letting me borrow his Bearing Core though). Unfortunately, after some close losses to Cye and 1234 in the finals I failed to get 2nd 3 times in a row and took 4th place instead, going 5-3 (7-3 if you count forfeits?). It was especially interesting to see how the different stadiums affected player behavior. Afterward, I played some trial rounds of the Deck Rotation format with 1234, Kei, Brad, Jesse, and EB3 before heading back home. I'll post my thoughts on this format (once I decide what they are) in its thread sometime in the near future.
Overall, I enjoyed this year's AN a lot. Thanks to everyone on staff who helped out with hosting the event, and Zankye and Manicben for the cool prizes. Don't know if I'll be back next year, but who knows, I could surprise you all again...
So I had plenty of fun during the tournaments. Bust is definitely more fun than I anticipated, and the competition at these past few AN events has been really fierce. I think the most fun part for me though is the socialization aspect. The most fun I had during the weekend was when we were just kind of hanging out. Whether it was hanging out around the city, or just chilling after a tournament and playing Beyblade casually. Speaking of which, I really hope I get to do that even more next year. Sitting around just talking and playing beyblade outside of a competitive atmosphere at AN are some of my fondest memories.
I think the staff did an excellent job. I know managing the turnout you got in the TCC instead of at the Sheraton was rough. There was way more traffic and you guys got a lot more exposure than usual. On Friday I remember Brad literally standing up playing any newcomers that even looked remotely interested for hours. It's not just him though. All of you guys that staffed the event were always engaged in something that made everything run more smoothly. Running three tournaments in one weekend is no small task, and because of the work you guys put in I had a blast at all three.
Special thanks to Yami/Zachbob for hooking me up with the weekend pass. Special thanks to Bae Master (and Bae Master's girlfriend) and Kai-V for hanging out with me and Sara, and for the good times we had in/around the city. (I definitely am coming back to hit that hill) Special Shoutout to Dark_Mousy for helping me so much in the MFB tournament. I don't think I've ever gotten that far in an MFB tourney at AN. Special shoutout to Kei and Bey Brad for holding down my beyblades when I left them at the International Plaza like an idiot. We definitely need to get more random lobby blading sessions in next time.
Also, the prizes and giveaways were great so thank you guys and Zankye for that.
Edit: Second Special Shoutout to Kei for bringing me those Gackt tickets.)
omg, the hat in Wombat's avatar makes so much more sense to me now.
Will post more thoughts soon, but in the mean time, here is the Beyblade Channel video I put together for BEYBLADE NORTH 2016 (Burst)!
"woooooooooooo"
Thanks for the great video, Kei!
Dayum, that video really made me feel like I missed out. Well done to everyone!
Nice vid Kei!
"Is this the beyblade tournament? Is it let it rip or go shoot?" loool
Who was that in the Vader mask?
(Jun. 02, 2016 12:53 AM)Manicben Wrote: [ -> ]Dayum, that video really made me feel like I missed out. Well done to everyone!
Nice vid Kei!
"Is this the beyblade tournament? Is it let it rip or go shoot?" loool Who was that in the Vader mask?
ICEICE/JesseObre
(Jun. 02, 2016 1:08 AM)Bey Brad Wrote: [ -> ] (Jun. 02, 2016 12:53 AM)Manicben Wrote: [ -> ]Dayum, that video really made me feel like I missed out. Well done to everyone!
Nice vid Kei!
"Is this the beyblade tournament? Is it let it rip or go shoot?" loool Who was that in the Vader mask?
ICEICE/JesseObre
I had a feeling it was heheh...
Must have been a lot of work for the organisers/staff. Now if only I could get a convention event going over here... lel
When thinking about this past weekend, it's hard to know where to start. Being in the Toronto Congress Centre was a new experience for all of us and–like the Sheraton–came with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. All things considered, I think we did a good job with the space we were given. I just hope it appeared that way to each of you who attended, haha.
Brad has already mentioned you all, but huge thanks to everyone who played a part in organizing the events over the weekend, to everyone who attended, and to everyone who supported us! I've been hosting our Anime North events for the past six years, and this year more than any other felt like the result of an enormous team effort, so thank you! I was really happy to have your help this year @[Bey Brad]; you haven't hosted a Beyblade event at AN since 2009, but with how well you handled everything that was thrown at you, I wouldn't have known it.
Next year will be insane with Burst having launched internationally. I'm looking forward to it already. Let's just hope we can secure a larger space!
(May. 28, 2016 9:56 PM)Kai-V Wrote: [ -> ]By the way here are the results for today:
1st: Mitsu
2nd: Wombat
3rd: Kei
Don't forget Valentin/@[Bae Master] who placed 4th! He has literally made the finals in every AN he has ever attended: 2010 (3rd), 2011 (2nd), 2012 (2nd), 2013, 2015 (1st, Triple Crown), and now this year in 2016 (4th). Quite an accomplishment!
(May. 30, 2016 5:52 PM)Asterisk Wrote: [ -> ]Hello again!
This past weekend was a blast, and it was super nostalgic seeing some old, friendly faces. I met a bunch of new people as well, and it's nice knowing that the Toronto blading scene is still very, very much alive.
Looking forward to coming out to more Toronto meetups, even though I don't really have a bey collection anymore!
It was so great to see you playing again, and even more so once I found out you had started 4-0 with the combo I gave you haha. Looking forward to seeing you again soon! We'll be glad to lend you some Beyblades if you don't have any.
(Jun. 01, 2016 6:25 AM)Wombat Wrote: [ -> ]I knew everyone in the Burst-centric Toronto meta would be using Revolve combos so I sought to exploit that by using KO Attack, and I would say I was pretty successful with that. Got off to a rough start at first with a "tactical" (not really lol) loss to U wot m8 in the first round but managed to go 5-1 in Swiss play and 2-1 in the finals.
I noticed! Unfortunately, I over-thought the situation during our battle in the finals and chose Deathscyther against you despite knowing that you had been using Victory Valkyrie and Valkyrie all day. In the moment I had figured that you would switch to something safer since you had just lost your first battle to Mitsu and would know that I had seen what you were using all day beforehand (and I think you used Neptune once? Can't recall for sure). I also thought I could weak-launch with Deathscyther and beat your Victory Valkyrie (especially since I saw your battle with U wot m8 earlier) should you end up picking it ... which was almost true! Was painful to lose after being up 2-0 haha. But it was really cool to watch you find success with V2 during the event.
I hope you do surprise us again next year.
(Jun. 01, 2016 7:35 AM)Cye Kinomiya Wrote: [ -> ]So I had plenty of fun during the tournaments. Bust is definitely more fun than I anticipated, and the competition at these past few AN events has been really fierce. I think the most fun part for me though is the socialization aspect. The most fun I had during the weekend was when we were just kind of hanging out. Whether it was hanging out around the city, or just chilling after a tournament and playing Beyblade casually. Speaking of which, I really hope I get to do that even more next year. Sitting around just talking and playing beyblade outside of a competitive atmosphere at AN are some of my fondest memories.
I agree. The tournaments are incredible and basically the pinnacle of WBO Organized Play every year, but the socialization aspect does indeed contribute just as much as the events do to what makes this weekend so memorable each year. I look forward to the events each year just as much as I do being able to see so many friends–like yourself!–I haven't seen in a year, and people from across North America and around the world that I'll be meeting for the first time. It's so, so special.
(Jun. 01, 2016 7:35 AM)Cye Kinomiya Wrote: [ -> ]Edit: Second Special Shoutout to Kei for bringing me those Gackt tickets.)
Can't wait to hear about your trip! You're gonna have such an incredible time.
Was great to see you again! Wish we could have hung out more.
Aha, I totally feel like I missed out now. Damn it D:
Glad to see that you all had great fun though! Definitely gotta make it over next year, regardless of any circumstances xD
(Jun. 02, 2016 1:40 AM)Kei Wrote: [ -> ]Can't wait to hear about your trip! You're gonna have such an incredible time. Was great to see you again! Wish we could have hung out more.
Next time we'll find a nice spot in the International Plaza and pick up where we left off!